From which divided nation hailed the Bin Laden family … indeed Yemen. So what’s new under señor Obama? US former ally and Yemeni dictator of a 33 reign, Ali Abdullah Saleh, came to an abrupt end in 2011 has now joined forces with the Houthi rebels …

Relations between the North Yemen and the South Yemen

[From BooMan’s linked article]

The roots of Yemen’s current conflict date back more than a decade, to a little-covered series of six brutal wars fought by the government of Yemen’s former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, in the aim of defeating an insurgent group–widely referred to as the Houthis–based in the country’s far north. The Houthis’ founder, firebrand cleric Hussein al-Houthi, hailed from a prominent Zaidi Shi’a family and was a leader of the revival of Zaidism, a heterodox Shi’a sect found nearly exclusively in Yemen’s mountainous north.

Notably the group’s foundation was, itself, rooted in a reaction to foreign intervention: a key aspect of the Houthis ideology was shoring up Zaidism against the perceived threat of the influence of Saudi-influenced ideologies and a general condemnation of the Yemeni government’s alliance with the United States, which, along with complaints regarding . the government’s corruption and the marginalization of much of the Houthis’ home areas in Saada constituted the group’s key grievances.

[A decade old strife between tribal leaders on the Arabian peninsula?? – Oui]

    Ironically known as ‘Arabia Felix’, Arabia’s `land of happiness’, Yemen has been hard hit by the war and other misfortunes. It’s a story, spanning at least 1,500 years, that involves everything from early Islamic politics and the Ottoman empire to Arab nationalism and the Cold War.

CIA Report on Yemen Unification of 1990

Unity: Myth vs Reality

Despite a sense of common national identity, Yemenis have traditionally been fragmented along regional, tribal and class lines. Successive regimes in North Yemen (Yemen Arab Republic)  have coopted the support of the country’s major Islamic figures to buttress regime legitimacy, while South Yemen (People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen) long has been among the most secular and radical states in the Arab world. The Marxist regime in Aden is further divided ideologically from the government in Sanaa.

North and South Yemen have pursued unity in a series of agreements since the 1970s [see appendix]. but actual implementation has remained elusive. Summit meetings typically occurred after a border clash or a deterioration in bilateral relations, but these talks for the most part have focused on resolving immediate issues in dispute.

Steps agreed to during President Salih’s 30 November visit to Aden did not exceed previous statements in substance, but may pave the way for establishment of a common infrastructure to complement the existing governments in Aden and Sanaa. Salih and SG al Beidh (South Yemen) endorsed the principle of a North-South Yemen federation, and approved the draft Unity Constitution of 1981.

Salih and al-Beidh also agreed to joint Yemeni use of Aden’s petroleum refinery and to construct asphalt roads linking Sanaa and Aden, [blacked out].

More below the fold …

My diaries @BooMan …

1. Houthi Rebellion In Yemen – US and the Shia/Sunni Divide  (Diaries, Diary)
 posted by Oui on 09/22/2014 07:38:22 AM PDT
0 comments (new)

2. US Drone Strikes Cause Fierce Blowback In Yemen (Diaries, Diary)
 posted by Oui on 08/11/2013 12:23:17 AM PDT
4 comments (new)

3. Yemen: Birthplace of Osama and Roots of Al Qaeda (Diaries, Diary)
 posted by Oui on 11/23/2011 02:39:28 PM PDT
0 comments (new)

4. Yemeni: Do They Like Americans? (Diaries, Diary)
 posted by Oui on 01/01/2010 11:24:44 AM PDT
4 comments (new)

5. Yemen: More than 120 people were reportedly killed by an US airstrike in Yemen’s Saada province (Diaries, Diary)
 posted by Oui on 12/26/2009 12:49:53 PM PDT
1 comment (new)

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